State cash collections up

ATLANTA - Georgia's state government has posted its largest gain in revenue in more than a year, raising the possibility the state's recession could be easing.

New figures released Monday showed the state's tax collections increased nearly 4 percent in June compared to the same period a year earlier.

Personal income tax collections jumped 9 percent, while money raised from sales and use taxes was up 5 percent. Those figures are an indicator for the overall economy since they show more people were working or making better money and spending more on goods than during the last period.

It's the second gain in monthly revenue in the last year-and-a-half since Georgia posted an anemic 1 percent increase in March.